


You're Shitty At This

by noodlerdoodler



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Hockey, F/F, M/M, Minor Violence, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 19:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5217725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noodlerdoodler/pseuds/noodlerdoodler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're Shitty At This

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this kind of hockey is English only but it's ball hockey. Disclaimer that this is badly written and I don't own anything.

The days are long but it always feels like the nights are much longer.

During the days, Karkat Vantas can distract himself easily enough if he really has to. There's school and that requires him to pay as much attention as he can manage. Not to mention, he has hockey practise nearly every day after school and that's something that he actually enjoys. Not to mention, it takes his entire attention span so he doesn't have a second to think about how bad it feels like his life is going. At weekends, he can spend time with Terezi. They watch movies and play video games and last Saturday, they baked cupcakes together. She'd smeared icing on his nose.

Yes, the days are fine, if a little exhausting.

But the nights border on painful because he has to spend them alone, after Terezi finally goes offline and he has nobody to bother anymore. He supposes he could message somebody else- Ampora always seems to be online- but it's not really the same. Terezi is the only real friend he has, sort of a crutch of his, and he doesn't really want to talk to anybody else. He had one other friend, a while ago, called Sollux. He went to school in the next town over but they were pretty close. Until Sollux got way too caught up in his piano and his boyfriend and his mental disorder thing all at once. He hasn't spoken to Karkat much since then, which is a shame because he never sleeps either and they could be insomnia pals.

So, Karkat spends the nights on his own.

Sometimes, he'll look out of the window at the stars if it's an especially clear night. Sometimes, he'll try to read a book or watch a movie or play a game on his computer but he can never manage to focus his attention on any for that long. When he googles this, curiously, he finds out that this is another symptom of depression and that's frustrating. Sometimes, it feels like this stupid disorder, this stupid word, is ruining his life. That's the thing running the show and he's just an actor in it.

Most of the time, he spends the nights thinking about how pointless all of this is. He just lies awake, his eyes aching, and he thinks and he worries and he loathes. He hates. And he wonders.

There's no way that everybody else feels so hopeless and lonely and exhausted all the time, there's just no way. He just feels so empty sometimes; sad and angry and tired. Nothing good ever seems to happen to him, his life always seems to be going downhill, and he never seems to feel happy. When was the last time he was truly happy anyway? He's not sure he can even remember. Wait... Yes, he can. He can remember the last time that he was truly happy.

There's one thing that always makes him happy.

Because Karkat Vantas is only really happy when he's-

 

* * *

 

_Smack!_

That's the sound of two hockey sticks smacking together as Karkat attempts to tackle some poor member of the opposite team to the ground. Okay, technically you're not allowed to do that in hockey but the referee isn't looking and nobody cares about losing teeth here. This is a violent sport and the majority of people playing are wearing full-body armour; knee-pads, shin-pads, elbow-pads (is there even a word for those?), gum shields, etc. Honestly, Karkat thinks his gum shield is the only reason he hasn't lost seven teeth by now.

But there's no time to think about it because the ball is all the way down the other side of the pitch and he has to tear all the way down to chase after it. He's not alone, as several other people charge in the same direction, and he receives an elbow to the face. It knocks his nose, causing it to make a cracking noise, but he runs on regardless. And he's just about to steal the ball away from the other team when the whistle blows and everybody throws down their hockey sticks in frustration.

Somewhere, he can hear Terezi screaming at somebody about "fouls" and "cheating" and "justice". He can't bring himself to care and decides to find his way to whoever has the medical kit, so that he can tape up his fingers and stop the flow of blood now steadily dripping from his nose. He can taste it in his mouth. It tastes like metal, like salt, and it's surprisingly thin.

_Smack!_

This is a different smack to the first smack because this is the smack of a hand against flesh.

It's the sound of Terezi, the team captain, slapping the other team's captain in the face. Soon enough, it turns into a fight and nobody rushes to tear them apart but the referee rolls their eyes and yells that both captains are going to get suspended from their teams if they don't quit it. The girls move apart, glaring daggers at each other, and huff as they storm away in opposite direction.

Terezi storms over to Karkat, who has found some tissues to press to his nose and has now got to work taping his index finger to his middle finger. It looks like he won't be flipping anybody off any time soon, unfortunately.

"Did you see that _bitch_?" Terezi demands, crossing her arms so tightly that she looks as if she's going to explode like a volcano. He hopes that he isn't in the line of damage. Terezi rarely gets angry (unlike him) but when she does, everybody better keep far out of her way. This is why both of them play hockey. They play for the same reason and it's to vent their anger at the world in a reasonably safe way.

Karkat has a few anger issues and his counsellor had advised that he joined a sports team to help him vent it and learn how to work with other people. His dad wanted him to take up football or soccer or kickboxing or something macho like that. And whilst he did try all of those sports and more, he found that they weren't really for him. He went from sport to sport for a while before Terezi finally came to him with an idea that he liked. She said that she was starting a hockey team and she wanted him to play on it. Of course, at first, he'd been confused because he thought that was a girls sport and didn't know boys were allowed to play. She said that she was setting up a team with boys and girls and that he could be second-in-command if he joined. That was enough to convince him and they'd set up a team together.

He secretly hoped to steal the spot of team captain from her someday but so far, he'd been unsuccessful in his attempts.

That had been in their freshman year, when they were small with braces and eager attitudes, and people had joined willingly. Soon enough, they had a team set up and whilst practice could be dull, soon they began to compete against other teams from other schools. Karkat found that he could be brutal in competitive hockey and found that he really enjoyed the sport, especially when him and Terezi were working together. They made quite the pair. For a long time, people thought that they were a couple.

And after a while, hockey had become his go-to as a way of expressing his frustration. If he had a bad day at school, he'd simply head home to get his stick and head up to their local courts. If none were open, a street or an alleyway would just do as well. Sometimes, he took Terezi with him so they could play against each other. Sometimes, he went alone and hit the ball against the wall repeatedly. Either way, it helped.

"Was that so-called "bitch" Vriska Serket?" Karkat peers over at where the tall, slender captain of the other team stands with her back to them. He doesn't even know why he bothers asking because he can recognise that blue-streaked ponytail anywhere. That's Vriska Serket alright and she's Terezi's arch-nemesis. To credit Terezi, Vriska is actually a giant bitch and nobody likes her all that much. She's the reason that Terezi's vision is so badly damaged that sometimes she confuses people's faces for the hockey ball. That's what Terezi says, at least, and Karkat knows better than to argue with her.

"You bet your ass that's Vriska Serket." Terezi is positively breathing fire, she's so angry, "Bitch tripped me and I landed on my ass like an idiot. Did you see?" Honestly, in the quick blur of the game it's hard to see or concentrate on anything except the hockey ball but Karkat knows to nod.

"God, I hate her so much. We are gonna kick her ass next week, I arranged a rematch with their team. Now, gather up the team, I think it's time that we all go and grab something to eat." Before Karkat can ask, she grins, "Don't worry, Karkles, it's on me. Gather the team." In the three years that they've been playing hockey, it's become a tradition for them to get food after a game. It's another reason why Karkat loves playing on Terezi's team because she always pays. Her mom is a lawyer, so her family is loaded.

Gathering up the team takes considerably longer than expected because, as always, somebody's lost their gum shield and somebody's gotta call their mom first and somebody has fallen over and can't be bothered to get up. Actually, that's just Ampora and that's just because he's a lazy git.

He doesn't even attend the same school as Karkat, he's from the next town over. He attends the same school as Sollux. He's apparently only here because his dad says he has to be "well-rounded", which means being good at a team sport and his school doesn't have a hockey team. Regardless, Karkat drags him across the pitch to the Pyrope car and hauls his ass into the backseat. He wishes that Eridan's school would set up a hockey team, so they can kick him off theirs.

"Alright, team!" Terezi yells from the passenger seat, (her older sister is driving, as usual. Latula drives them to and from every game good-naturedly. Maybe Terezi bribes her into it or something), "So, maybe we lost today! But we're gonna kick their asses hard next week! Extra training sessions! Extra effort! Anybody that hits Serket with a hockey stick gets my eternal love and affection!" There's a cheer for this, "Now, onwards to McDonalds!" There's a significantly louder cheer for this.

On the ride over, Karkat's nose finally bleeds to a stop but he's informed by Eridan that his nose is significantly crooked now. Great, just great. He turns away from that smug asshole and gets to work removing his shin pads, peeling them off and stuffing them in his bag. Karkat knows a lot of people at his school think of hockey as a girls sport but they've never played. Hockey is brutal, which is why there's a series of bruises all the way up his legs from where Vriska Serket (bitch) "accidentally" hit him with her hockey stick.

"Look at what that fucking ass-chewer did to my legs!"

"That bitch." comes the chorus reply.

And all the way to McDonalds, they continue on like that- calling out Vriska on all the shitty things she's done and calling her a bitch. Terezi makes sure to mention her faulty eyesight and Eridan says he heard that Vriska crippled this kid in third grade. Most people automatically call bullshit on this because there's no way a third grader could be capable of crippling anyone. But, surprisingly, Terezi backs him up and says that's why Tavros Nitram uses a wheelchair. That's a little shocking to find out.

Towards the end of the drive, the conversation somehow turns towards school and Terezi tells them about a project she has to do with some kid called Dave.

"He's super cool." She assures them, "He's got the coolest shades and this t-shirt that's cherry red. God, I could eat him up."

"Aren't you gay?" Eridan says, bluntly.

"I can still admire cute guys." She replies, equally as bluntly.

Terezi is gay and has been openly for what feels like forever. And though he's never said so, it's pretty much been assumed that Eridan is gay too. After all, there aren't too many straight guys with streaked hair and jewellery. Besides, Karkat swears that he's mentioned a boyfriend before.

As if to complete the set, Karkat is also completely, utterly, super gay, much to the disappointment of his family. Actually, his dad- very religious- has never openly said that he's disappointed about him and he has been very supportive of him but Karkat gets the idea that his dad would prefer him to be straight. Well, that sucks for him then.

Kankri is one of those "social justice warriors" on Tumblr, so he's very much on Karkat's side.

"Hey, Karkat, maybe you'd like him." Terezi lowers her glasses down her nose just so that she can wink at him, "After all, he's cute and I bet he'd enjoy your crappy romance movies. Ironically, at least."

Karkat snorts. "No way am I ever going to date some guy that you picked out for me. I bet he's not even that attractive."

That's when the car halts to a stop and everybody piles out, grouping together before heading aside. At the establishment's request, they all now have to leave their hockey sticks in the car because of that one time that a customer tripped over somebody's and broke their arm. Of course, Terezi refuses to obey this rule and she's gripping her stick in the same way that one would grip a weapon as they head inside.

"What if you get in trouble?" Eridan asks.

"I'll smack a bitch." Terezi jokes and Karkat prays she doesn't actually hit anybody because at this point, he's going to die if he doesn't get some fries soon. In fact, he grabs her by the arm that's holding the hockey stick and drags her inside before he can pass out from starvation. Hockey takes a lot out of him honestly. It's late on a Wednesday evening in a reasonably small town, so McDonalds is all but deserted. The guy behind the counter looks bored.

The guy behind the counter is also amazing-looking.

"Holy shit." Eridan pronounces loudly without any shame, "That guy is cute."

Eridan is definitely gay, confirmed.

The guy behind the counter definitely heard that because he smirks. But, Karkat decides, whilst this guy is definitely very cute, he is also a complete douchebag. He deduces this is not just because the guy is smirking but because he's wearing shades inside (who the hell where shades inside?!) and because his name on his tag is printed simply as STRIDER. Okay, either he's got a really douchey first name or he goes by his last name, which is totally fucking lame.

Terezi completely flips her shit, when she finally sees him, (which is only when they're right up by the counter because her eyesight is about as good as a mole's).

"Dave? _Dave?_ I didn't know you worked here!"

"Gotta earn that extra cash, TZ." is the douchiest sentence ever said.

"Guys, this is Dave, who I was telling you about. We're doing a project together. I told you he was cute, didn't I, Karkat?" She elbows him pointedly, as if to say _Dave, this is Karkat, pay attention to him, please stare at him from behind your dumb shades_. He does and Karkat grumbles, elbowing her back. Unfortunately, she literally feels no pain because she is a hardcore sports person and always seems to be doing some form of contact sport. So, the effort put into elbowing her is wasted.

"Well, this is pleasant and all but I didn't come here for idle chit-chat, I came here for a Big Mac and fries. Get working, asshole." Karkat can't even stop the words from coming out of his mouth. Again, Strider's mouth stretches into a slight smirk. He only seems to have two expressions: stoic and smug.

"Comin' right up, Karkles."

Karkat chokes.

Terezi cackles with delight.

"What can I get the rest of ya?"

So, Karkat just stands there, silently fuming, as his team places their orders, and wishes that he'd pulled a Terezi and brought his hockey stick with him so he could smash Strider's smug face in. And all the time, he's shifting from foot to foot, confused about why he finds this asshole to be attractive. There's no reason for him to find him attractive, none at all, and yet. Whatever. When their orders are _finally_ served up, he's fully prepared to grab his and make a run for it.

But Terezi holds him by the arm and leads him to the table that she's picked out ("because I'm the captain, after all"), sitting him down and grinning widely at him. Oh no, he knows that grin. She's definitely going to tease him about Dave Strider for the rest of the week at the very least. Goddamnit!

Luckily, the rest of the meal goes smoothly from there with minimal teasing and Karkat doesn't kill anyone. He's just about calm when they've finished, which is, of course, when McDouchebag makes a reappearance.

"Yo, TZ, can I hitch a ride home?"

Karkat thinks about emptying his soda over Strider's head but unfortunately, he's already finished it. Damn.

"Sure thing, Dave. If there isn't enough room, you can just sit on my lap." Wait for it. "Or on Karkat's." There it is. She, again, cackles like a madwoman and he rolls his eyes. Strider smirks.

The car journey home is enough to make Karkat lose his shit. With a Terezi jabbing him at one side and Strider sitting on the other and hardly saying a word, it's enough to drive him insane. It doesn't help when Eridan decides to lean back from the passenger seat, (which he somehow managed to steal from Terezi), and join in with Let's Make Karkat's Life Hell. Karkat focuses on staring out of the window and when he sees they're passing the hockey courts, he yells for Latula to stop the car. Everybody stares at him as he gathers up his stuff and the hockey ball, climbing out of the car.

"I hate you, Terezi." He tells her, before he stamps off in the direction of the courts. She waves enthusiastically to him. Fuck her.

It's completely deserted and he scores a court to himself, throwing down his belongings, and dribbling the ball back and forth, back and forth. He scores goal after goal, furiously smacking the ball into the back of the net and yelling in frustration when he misses. He doesn't hold back, running even when he feels like he can't run anymore, kicking the ball whenever he misses with the stick. He's exhausted already, layer after layer of sweat breaking out on his skin and pouring down his forehead. He's hot and sticky but his frustration drives him and every time he wants to stop, he thinks about Strider's smug face and hits the ball again. He only stops when he hears a voice behind him.

"You missed like eight shots. I've never seen you play so bad." It's not the last person that he wants to see but she's definitely in the Top Ten People Karkat Doesn't Want To Talk To Right Now list. When he turns, Vriska Serket is standing there and leaning on her stick. The smile on her blue painted lips makes him hit the ball out of play in annoyance.

"What the fuck do you want, Serket?" His chest is heaving breathlessly.

"You look like you need a partner to practise with." She says, stealing the ball away from him.

"Shit!"

And they play. She shows him where he's going wrong- which turns out to be a lot of places- and she corrects him. He tells her that she's a bitch. She laughs and agrees. And whilst they're playing, Vriska tells him about how her Mom has really been getting at her lately and how she isn't sure how much longer she can deal with it. The game ends when she scores for the eight time in a row and high-fives him. And he hates to admit it but:

"Thanks, Serket. I had fun or some shit like that."

"You're not so bad yourself, Vantas." She shakes his hand, "Thanks for listening. Pyrope doesn't need to hear about this."

"No, no, she doesn't." And they go their separate ways.

 

* * *

 

Terezi calls on Saturday.

"So, do you want me to set you up with Dave?" is the greeting he gets.

"Most people start with hi, Pyrope." He rolls his eyes and sits back down on his couch, "And no, quite frankly I thought he was a complete douchebag."

" _Please_ , you hardly even spoke to him. He's a great guy, I swear."

"Yeah, right. Was that a fucking pig that just flew past my head?"

"You're so grouchy, Karkles." He can practically hear her pouting on the other side of the line, "Anyway, I only ask because there is that dumb dance thing coming up this month and neither of you have got anyone to go with."

"Why don't you just focus on getting your own date?"

"Because there isn't anybody that I like. All the hot girls turn out to be straight." She sighs, "Anyway, that's beside the point. I saw the way that you were looking at Dave. You should ask him."

"It's like you said, I hardly know the guy." Karkat reminds her, "Why would I ask a guy that I don't even know to a _school_ dance?"

"Because it would be just like something out of a rom-com! The outcast and the coolkid turning up arm in arm to the dance!"

"Terezi, _no_."

"Oh, fine. Anyway, I'm arranging practise for this afternoon at one. You think you can make it?"

"Sure."

For a while longer, they discuss how hard they are going to kick ass next week before Karkat tells her that he's actually got homework to get back to and hangs up on her. It's not a complete lie- he does have a lot of homework to do- but he knows that Terezi would talk forever if he let her. And honestly, she gets a little annoying after a while. Anyway, he hangs up on her and he heads upstairs to change into his hockey gear. Sure, she said they were meeting at one but it never hurt to get some practise down beforehand. Besides, Karkat liked to play and he found it oddly exciting. There wasn't much in his life that he enjoyed anymore, so playing was like the only chance he seemed to get to enjoy himself. And he was good at it. He liked being good at something for once. So, he got changed and asked Kankri to drive him to the courts.

Willingly, his brother drove him up there and warned him not to get hurt before dropping him off. Surprisingly, Karkat wasn't the first person there and there were already two people on the court. They looked as if they were arguing and rolling his eyes, he approached slowly and curiously. Upon closer inspection, he recognised the slimmer, taller figure as being Vriska Serket with her hair tied back in a thick braid instead of a ponytail today. The slightly smaller figure was Dave Strider, he realised with surprise. He was standing there, all dark skin and blonde hair, gesturing wildly and obscenely as he argued with her. When he got close enough, he could hear what they were arguing about and was surprised to find out that it was about Terezi.

"If you like her so bad, why don't you just go ahead and say something?" Strider is saying and Karkat can't help finding it a little cute that his hands flaps about enthusiastically when he talked like this. He looks frustrated (and Karkat adds that to the list of emotions that Strider apparently possesses) and keeps adjusting his shades on his nose.

"Because I know that there's no way she likes me back. She's probably got some cute girlfriend anyway!" Vriska has pushed her glasses on top of her head and her eyes are shockingly dark blue without the thick lenses to obscure them from view. They're kind of like the sky in the evening.

"She doesn't _have_ a girlfriend." Karkat says, once he's close enough for them to hear. Vriska and Strider jerk apart once they notice that he's standing there, "Are you two idiots just going to stand there on the court or can we actually gonna get some play in before Pyrope turns up?" He hits the hockey ball to Vriska, who stops it and blinks at him. Then, a wicked smile spreads across her face.

"Are you ready to get your ass kicked, Vantas?"

"Are _you_ ready to get _your_ ass kicked, Serket?" Karkat tackles her for the ball and races down to the other side of the court, smacking it into the back of the net. She frowns, quick on his heels, and they resume the game in the centre of the pitch. Much to Karkat's surprise, Strider joins in, even though the stick is clearly borrowed from Vriska and he has no idea what he's doing.

"Do you really like Terezi?" Karkat asks, as his stick clangs against Vriska's and he steals the ball from her, "Romantically, I mean?"

"Well, sure." Vriska chases him, "She's cute, right? And she's smart and she plays good. God, she's so pretty." She takes the ball back and smacks him around the ankles with her stick for good measure, "Strider, here!" She hits it to him.

"What?" Strider looks so confused and Karkat takes the opportunity to tackle him. He's only attempting to steal the ball but somebody trips over somebody's stick and they both end up sprawled on the floor, "What the fuck? This sport isn't safe."

"Duh, it's not safe. It wouldn't be fun if it was safe!" Vriska proclaims, snatching the ball from them and rushing to score.

"I think Terezi thinks you hate her!" Karkat calls after her.

"Well, I'll just have to convince her otherwise, won't I?" Vriska calls, scoring a goal and cheering enthusiastically, "Suck on that, Vantas!"

Strider is crushing his legs and he's not getting up, so Karkat pokes him. That's when Strider glances at him and his shades have been knocked aside, so that he can get a good look at his eyes for the first time. They're crimson red, ("cherry red" Terezi would have said), and they're smiling. Strider is grinning and it's actually reaching his eyes, like he's having fun or something. Then, he seems to realise and he regains his stoic expression.

"Your eyes are cool." Karkat says, when Strider finally stands and helps him to his feet. Strider's hand is soft and warm and he's surprised by this.

"... Thanks, I guess." Strider shrugs, but he looks secretly pleased, "Kinda freaky, huh?"

"I don't think so. Not freaky, just different." Karkat says, wishing he could say how pretty they were without sounding like a complete idiot, "I mean, they look... Nice."

"Cool." Strider says. He's not looking at Karkat anymore but he might be smiling? Unless that was just a grimace or something.

"Are you two done having a heart-to-heart?" Vriska demands, "C'mon, let's play!" She's been scoring again and again, whilst they were tangled on the floor. Fucking cheater.

Karkat suddenly becomes aware that Strider's hand is still gripping his and _did he just squeeze my hand?_ Karkat wonders. That's when Strider looks at him, down at their hands, looks back at Karkat, and drops his hand abruptly. Karkat almost misses his touch but picks up his hockey stick instead, continuing the game before Vriska can cheat her way to winning.

They're still playing when Terezi turns up. In fact, she turns up just in time to see Karkat and Strider smash headfirst into each other and fall on their asses like idiots. Karkat is actually laughing at this, actually having fun, when he hears her voice and his blood runs cold.

"Karkat Vantas, what the hell are you doing fraternising with the enemy?" Everything turns quiet and cold. Terezi is standing there, hands on her hips, hockey stick fallen from her hand and lying on the floor. Her frizzy hair has been tied up in a ponytail bouncing on top of her head.

"People still use the word 'fraternising'?" Strider says, in amusement.

"Strider!" Terezi seems to notice him for the first time, "What are the two of you doing with Vriska?"

"I'll just be leaving then." Vriska says, picking up her stick, "Since I'm clearly not wanted." Her voice is cold with anger and sadness. She makes sure to bump hips with Terezi as she passes but the smaller, chubbier girl is an impenetrable force and doesn't so much as flinch.

"You two!" Terezi barks at them, "You two better start running laps for me!"

"Is she serious?" Strider wonders aloud.

Karkat nods and starts running.

 

* * *

 

Vriska calls him on Tuesday night.

"Hey Karkat."

"Vriska, what a fucking pleasant surprise." He's being sarcastic but honestly, he's so glad to have somebody to talk to. It feels like he's been holding his breath all night and finally, he can exhale. Terezi hasn't called, since he's apparently fraternising with the enemy still. Girls are strange creatures. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk to you because I feel like you might understand some of the shit I'm going through right now."

"It depends if the shit you're going through right now is your life falling apart."

"Oh, dear Karkles. Always the drama queen. But yeah, it's sorta kinda like that. Lots of shit is going down between me and my mom right now."

"I wish my dad would argue with me. He's way too nice, it's kind of passive-aggressive. I'd much rather yell at him. I find it to be quite cleansing."

"You find screaming at people to be cleansing?"

"Yeah, kinda. I need to get anger out somehow. That's why I play hockey, y'know. Anyway, your mom?"

"I feel like I'm failing her or something."

"Honestly, I understand, Vriska. I feel like I'm failing everybody."

"Are you always this depressed or is it only at ten at night?"

"No, I'm pretty much always depressed. Clinically. I just don't talk about that too much."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay. What did you want to talk about?"

"I feel like I'm not doing well enough. And I'm trying so hard to prove to my mom that I'm, like, a good person but she just can't see that."

"If I recall, your mother is a giant bitch?"

"Correct."

"Then, fuck her. Who cares what she thinks?"

"I hope you aren't literally saying I should fuck my mother."

"God, no. Don't do that. Anyway, her opinion doesn't matter. What matters is how you think of yourself."

"I think of myself as a giant bitch. Just like my mother."

"You are a giant bitch. But in a good way. Don't you have fun when we play together?"

"Yeah."

"Then, maybe you just need to play more friendly games and less competitive ones."

"Yeah..."

"Or maybe you just need a friend or too."

"I don't think anybody wants to be my friend, Karkat." Vriska says, sadly.

"I'll be your friend. And Terezi will be your date to the dance if you ask her."

"What dance?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you go to a different school. Our school is having this dance thing in a few weeks. Terezi doesn't have anybody to go with. If you really like her, you should ask her."

"Thanks for the advice, Karkat."

"It's nothing. You want to hit up the arcade after school tomorrow or something?"

"Are you asking me to be your gay friend?"

"Vriska, everybody I know is gay. Don't make yourself feel special. But yeah, we're friends."

"Sure. Have a good night, Vantas."

"You too, Serket." She hangs up and he's left thinking that maybe this making friends business is easier than he originally thought. And he wonders if he should ask Strider to join them at the arcade but he quickly shakes that thought away. Talking to Vriska, the apparently sworn enemy, is way easier than talking to Strider. He makes Karkat clam up. It's like Karkat likes him or something. Which is totally gross.

 

* * *

 

Every single day that week, Strider turns up to practise and that's when it registers with Karkat that he must have joined the team. He checks with Terezi and she confirms this. He rages, demanding to know why he wasn't told, and she yells that she doesn't have to tell him everything, she's the captain after all. Practise that afternoon is in the rain but Terezi doesn't take pity on anyone, lashing out at anybody who isn't up to standard. Somehow, Strider ends up running alongside Karkat.

"What's up with TZ? She's really pissy today. Did you guys have a lovers fight or something?"

Karkat ignores him.

"Hey? Karkitten? Anybody home?"

Karkat ignores him.

"Are you ignoring me? What the hell did I ever do to you?"

Karkat stops. "Before you turned up, everything was just fine. Now, my team is falling apart and I'm almost certain that it's your fucking fault. And this is the only thing I have going for me and you're ruining it." He feigns stretching so that Strider doesn't see the tears of frustration filling his eyes. It's not just hockey. It's that he's doing worse at school, that he's lost his only friend, that the only thing he enjoys doesn't seem to be fun anymore. And that Kankri has been bugging him about seeing a doctor to help with his depression. It's enough to drive a guy insane.

"Dude, don't freak out." Strider says, "You're being totally overdramatic."

Karkat goes back to ignoring him, stretching his body. He swears that he's pulled a leg muscle because it really hurts whenever he stretches his left leg. He winces and that's enough to tip his tears over the edge, causing them to spill down his face.

"Are you crying?" Strider asks and for once, the douchebag actually sounds concerned. Like, there's actual emotion in his voice. "Karkat? Are you okay?"

"It's raining, idiot. The rain's in my eyes and shit." But his voice betrays him, cracking badly in the middle. He returns to running, ignoring the searing pain in his leg that's screaming at him to stop and sit down. To his surprise, Strider jogs after him. Karkat notes that he's gasping for breath. "You're really unfit."

"It's not that. I just have bad lungs." Strider says, "Dude, are you sure that you're okay?"

"You smoke, don't you?" Of course he does. Fuck, of course Strider smokes. Disgusting.

"It's a way of coping."

"Bullshit." Karkat stumbles on his bad leg, the one that Vriska Serket hit during last game, and Strider catches him in his arms. It's cliché and he hates it. He hates that Strider is a cliché and that's he falling for him anyway. Just because he has a pretty face and he gives half a shit about Karkat, he's falling for him. Karkat's leg is throbbing badly but he knows he has to keep going, he has to keep running, he can't upset Terezi anymore. Which is why he pushes Strider away and stands by himself. The other boy doubles over to catch his breath and they stand there, staring at each other.

"Do you want to grab some coffee?" Strider says, eventually, once he's breathing normally again and he's straightened up.

"What?"

"After this bullshit is over and TZ lets us leave.... You wanna get some coffee with me?"

"Fuck no."

"That's a yes, isn't it?"

Karkat nods. That's when Terezi yells for everybody to come in so they can play a game. She's set on beating Vriska tomorrow if it's the last thing she does and Karkat wonders if there actually is something between them. Something other than hatred because Terezi seems obsessed with Vriska.

The team splits in half and Karkat ends up nose-to-nose with Terezi, waiting for her to initiate play so that he can prove himself to her. She starts the game and he smacks the ball to Strider, who's been getting better day-by-day, and they run forwards. And he hits it to Eridan, who hits it back to Karkat, and Karkat scores.

"Nice one, Vantas!" Terezi yells to him and that's how he knows that he's being forgiven.

Strider goes to give Karkat a high-five but he doesn't let go, sliding his fingers between his. Looking flustered, Strider tries to smirk but it doesn't really work. Karkat realises that he really gets under the Hispanic boy's skin and that makes him smirk. Throughout practise, they work together and Strider is definitely improving, scoring at least one goal. And finally, when the rain really starts pounding it down, Terezi lets them off and everybody rushes to get to any form of shelter. Strider gestures for Karkat to follow him and he opens the door to a car, both of them climbing into the back. It's cold and raining and Karkat is shivering.

"Yo, Bro." Strider greets the man in the front seat, "This is Karkat. We're gonna get some coffee. Drive us into town, will ya?"

'Bro' doesn't say anything but he kicks the car into gear.

"So..." Strider seems to realise that they have nothing to talk about, "Hockey is really important to you, huh?"

"It's a way of coping." Karkat shrugs.

He swears that Strider grins. "Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"You're really good at making conversation, you know that?"

"Thanks." Karkat says, sarcastically, "You're not great yourself either, you know. I hardly even know anything about you. I just know that you work at McDonalds occasionally, you have red eyes, and you're a shitty hockey player."

"Nah, I'm not shitty. You're just really good and I look bad in comparison." Strider says.

Karkat manages a smile. "Thanks. You're still shitty, though." He glances out of the window at the passing scenery but can't help his eyes from moving back to focus on Strider, "What's the deal with your eyes anyway? Discoloured pigments or some shit?"

"Fuck if I know." Strider shrugs, "But I've got to keep the shades on because they're really sensitive to light."

"Like a vampire."

"Just like Robert Pattinson, yes." Strider smirks and tosses his hair ironically; he waits a moment before asking in a quieter voice, "So... Like... What's your deal anyway? If you're cool with me asking."

Karkat frowns. "What do you mean? My deal? What deal?"

"Just... About you. What's up with you? Why're you so... Karkat-ish?" That's when the car comes to a stop and Strider climbs out of the car, holding open the door for him. He follows, mumbling a thanks to the man he presumes to be Strider's brother. The man winks at him stoically, leaving him confused and a little disturbed. "I want to know about you and not just the things that Terezi's told me. I'm pretty sure she was bullshitting me."

Strider was asking about him?

What is there to say? "My name's Karkat, I have clinical depression and anger issues. I don't sleep. My skin looks like this because I have vitiligo." He shrugs, "That's about it." He follows Strider into a coffeeshop (it's the only one in their small town actually) and they find a table in the furthest back corner. Neither of them discuss this, they just do it automatically. Karkat sits by the wall.

"No, no, I don't care about those things. Well, I do care- especially about your skin thing because that looks badass as fuck- but I mean that I want to know about you. Y'know... What movies you like, your favourite colour, that bullshit." Strider says, picking up a menu and pretending to look at it casually.

"Strider, is this a date?" Karkat asks, suddenly realising.

"Well, yeah, if you want it to be." Strider's dark skin flushes even darker, Karkat swears on his life, and he won't look at him, "Just... Talk. Tell me about yourself." Somehow, Strider doesn't seem as cool as he used to. He's more human.

Karkat thinks. "Well, I like romantic comedies. Especially anything with Will Smith in. My favourite colour is grey and-"

"Your favourite colour is grey?" Strider wrinkles his nose.

"It's nice." Karkat defends, "Grey like the sky outside right now. Grey like the clouds."

"Dude, that's really depressing."

"It's not. Just because I don't like fiery red like you do."

"How'd you guess?"

"Every single shirt you own is red, Dave."

Strider pauses for a moment. "You called me Dave.

"What?"

"You called me Dave instead of Strider. Does that mean I'm getting somewhere?"

"Maybe." Dave's hand comes to rest on top of Karkat's.

 

* * *

 

The rematch is on Friday and Karkat has never been less ready.

_Smack!_

That's the sound of Karkat hitting the ground, when Vriska trips him and he lands on his face like a moron. At least she has the decency to yell an apology as she runs off with the ball. He kneels up and as he watches, Eridan Ampora smashes directly into Vriska and she goes flying. Huh, maybe that kid is good for something after all. A dark hand is thrust in front of Karkat's face and he takes it, letting Dave help him to his feet. He nearly falls over again, his bad leg refusing to support him, so he shifts his weight onto the other leg. He grits his teeth. And Dave wraps an arm around him and he's warm in the cold weather, so Karkat leans into him.

"Are you okay to keep playing?" Dave asks.

"I've got to keep playing." Karkat shrugs, "C'mon, we can't leave them out there on their own." He races towards the other end of the pitch as fast as his short legs can carry him and Terezi, who has somehow managed to wrangle the ball, hits it to him. He smacks it into the goal, causing everybody to cheer. His leg is painful and he really does need to sit down now but he doesn't let himself. He's got to keep playing, that's for sure. They go back to the centre of the pitch and Vriska and Terezi are face-to-face, glaring at each other. Vriska mutters something that he can't hear from here and Terezi growls. And then, one of them hits the ball and they're off again.

Somehow, being friends with Vriska makes it so much harder to play against her. Because the whole time that he's up close and intimate, trying to take the ball from her, all he can think is that this is the girl who feels like she's disappointing her mom. And all the times that she trips him with her hockey stick, all he can think is that this is the girl that doesn't seem to have a friend in the world except him right now. Whenever she's running alongside him, he wants to ask if she's asked Terezi out yet and what she said. He realises with a start that the reason he's thinking all these things is because he's genuinely starting to care about Vriska Serket. Whenever they bump into each other, their eyes meet and they grin at each other.

"Did you ask her to the dance yet?" Karkat finally says under his breath, when she's blocking him so that Eridan can't pass to him.

He swears that she grins. "Not yet. After the game, maybe."

"Please tell me that you got her some flowers or some shit."

"Better. I got her a stuffed dragon."

"You're good."

She definitely grins. "Thanks." And they get back into play.

They keep playing for a while, though it becomes less of a team game and more of Terezi and Vriska fighting over the ball and screaming at each other, before anything of any significance happens.

It's only as Karkat finally gets the ball from the two of them that Vriska wallops him with her stick for the millionth time that he goes down and can't go up again. It's hard to describe but everything went suddenly white, stars spinning in front of his eyes, and next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground and he couldn't feel anything except the burning in his leg. He can feel his arm being tugged on but he can't find any words, he can't even bring himself to open his eyes properly. Everything is hazy and painful. Except for one thing.

What he recognises as Dave's voice, easily recognisable by the Texan drawl, is far from painful. It's soft and familiar like the grip on his arm is. God, he hopes that he's not dying because it would suck to die without getting to tell Dave how much he's enjoying his hand on his arm. He can hear Terezi yelling something in the distance and next thing he knows, he's being hefted up between the two of them.

"C'mon, Karkles." Dave is saying, "God, I don't think his foot is meant to bend that way."

"Dave, don't say things like that!" Terezi growls at him, "He's going to be fine. This is nothing. I've seen people crawl off the hockey pitch with their arms barely hanging from the sockets." Something about that is strangely reassuring and Karkat wishes he could roll his eyes because she's totally exaggerating. He's helped into the car and buckled in. He leans against Dave, enjoying how warm he is. It's so cold... He must be mumbling because next thing he knows, Dave's jacket is wrapped around him. That's better, that's warmer. Karkat closes his eyes and he's so comfortable, that he must fall asleep or something.

 

* * *

 

Next thing he's aware of, he's in the hospital- he presumes because he's been there a few times and it's not hard to recognise- and Dave's still there. He's still sat beside him and Karkat is still leaning against him. Realising that he's drooling on Strider's shoulder, he sits up and wipes his mouth on the back of his hand. Dave seems to realise that he's awake and an arm wraps around him again, supporting him. Glancing at him, Karkat can't help but smile. Dave is beautiful, especially up-close like this. And he smells strangely like vanilla. It's nice. God, Karkat hates himself for thinking like this.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." Dave says and Karkat rolls his eyes.

"Hey, Prince Charming. Come to kiss me awake?"

"Looks like I'm a little late but kisses are still up for grabs." Dave tries to kiss him and Karkat ducks out of the way, laughing. That's when he realises that his leg doesn't hurt too much anymore and he glances down to see what the damage is. It's bandaged but it doesn't look too bad.

"It's only badly sprained. He regains you injured it last week and playing anyway made it worse." Dave tells him, "The doctor said to tell you not to overexert yourself. He also thought you were my boyfriend and I said you were. That's okay, right?" He's smirking again, looking throughly pleased with himself. Karkat just elbows him in the ribs. "Hey!"

"So, am I your boyfriend?"

"Do you want to be?"

"Yeah."

"Then, I guess you're my boyfriend. Congratulations. I'll print a certificate for you."

"Fuck off."

That's when Terezi and Vriska burst through the door to the room at the exact same time and both of them rush to his side. Of course, neither of them are concerned about poor Karkat and his badly sprained ankle. They're bickering as always and want his opinion on the matter.

"Karkat!" Vriska is first to get a word in, "Okay, so you're the expert on romance here. You've seen all the movies. Don't you think that wearing matching dresses would be awful for a dance?"

Karkat starts to grin. "Why, is somebody going to a dance? Who's going to a dance?"

Terezi rolls her eyes. "Duh, me and Vriska are. I think we should both wear blue but she thinks that would be cliché and boring."

"I just think that red would compliment your skin tone." Vriska says and they're back to bickering. Somehow, it seems more good natured that it did before and Karkat notices that Terezi keeps touching Vriska. She keeps bumping elbows with her, touching her shoulder, and he decides that this isn't a new thing. Terezi has liked her for a long time. He wonders how the hell he, the romance expert, never noticed this.

"Will you be wearing the crocs to the dance, Terezi?" Dave inquires, amused. It's a long-running joke that Terezi is the only person in the world that wears crocs seriously and thinks that they're cool. She has this pair of red crocs that she likes to wear year-round and they clash with every single item of clothing that she owns. She's even wearing them now, she proves, by putting her foot up on the end of Karkat's bed. She's still wearing her sports kit but she's changed into crocs. Dave starts laughing.

Vriska is horrified. "Oh, she most certainly will not! No date of mine wears crocs!"

Dave laughs harder and Terezi cackles like a banshee.

 

* * *

 

It's the night of the dance and Karkat is alone on the hockey court, hitting the ball repeatedly against the wall. He wonders if Terezi wore her crocs and is dancing with Vriska right now, trying to step on her toes. He wonders what colour dresses they went with in the end. Did his older brother ask anybody to the senior dance? He imagines Kankri trying to dance with a girl and he almost laughs aloud.

_Smack!_

The ball bounces off the wall and he wonders what Dave's doing. He really thought that he'd ask him to the dance but maybe Dave wanted him to make the first move? God, he didn't know. But he sure wished that he was at that dance with Dave or watching a movie with Dave or kissing Dave anywhere. He'd sure like to kiss Dave, seeing as they're boyfriends and all now.

He feels especially lonely tonight, that's why he snuck out to practise.

"Karkat Vantas, can I ask you to dance?" Speak of the devil because when he turns, Dave is standing on the hockey courts in one of his stupid red shirts and some black pants. There's a tie tied loosely around his neck and he guesses that this is as dressed up as Dave gets. "I mean, I know we didn't get tickets to the dance. But I say fuck it, let's hold our own private dance out here." He opens his arms and Karkat rolls his eyes.

The music from the school gymnasium is loud and they're close enough to the school that they can hear it out here, almost as clear as if they were at the dance. He thinks to hell with it. If Dave wants to dance with him, he'll take it. Even if neither of them are appropriately dressed and they're standing on a hockey court.

"If this is what you call an invitation, it's really fucking lame." He tells him but he tosses his hockey stick aside, "I'm not really dressed for a dance." He gestures to his old sweater, which has some pretty obvious holes in it, "You could have warned me that we were going to dance tonight."

"Honestly, I wasn't sure if we were. I just got off work and I guessed you'd be out here like you always are." Dave walks towards him, "How's the leg feeling?"

Karkat shrugs and tries to work out where's supposed to place his hands. Like, he knows how it works with hetero couples but he has no idea how dancing is supposed to work with two guys. "It's not as bad as it was. Still hurts."

Dave considers this and wraps his arms around Karkat, lifting him up. "Legs around me. There we go, I can hold you like this. And then..." He took Karkat's right hand, "We dance like this." And slowly, Dave begins to spin with him, "Can you tell that I've never done this before?"

Karkat clings to him. "Yeah, you're really shitty at it."

"Well, I'll learn."

"I don't know, you're kind of a bad learner." Karkat grins at the face Dave pulls and leans in closer so that they bump noses, "You're not a bad looking fucker, though."

And, slowly even though he wants to rush in, Karkat kisses him.

Neither of them really know what they're doing and it's sticky and awkward and Dave tastes kind of like fries and nicotine but Karkat doesn't care. He keeps working on it, hoping he doesn't completely suck at this. He only stops for a second to come up for air.

"Wow." Dave says; then, he says in a more excited tone, "Wow!"

"You need to practise more." Karkat tells him and he presses his lips up against his again.

"Better?" Dave inquires, when he pulls back breathlessly.

"Nope, you're still shitty at this." Karkat informs him.

Dave laughs.


End file.
